China to launch its Mars Lander Mission in 2020

China to launch its Mars Lander Mission in 2020

HAINAN, CHINA — China has reiterated is plans to send a space probe, a lander and an orbiter to Mars in 2020 on the heels of landing a mission on the far side of the moon, state-run media agency Xinhua reports.

Wu Yanhua, deputy chief of the China National Space Administration, made the announcement in a press conference on Monday, Xinhua reports.

The mission is being called the Mars Global Remote Sensing Orbiter and Small Rover, or HX-1.

According to the State Council of the People's Republic of China's website, China's Mars 2020 mission will be launched on a Long March-5 carrier rocket from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan province.

A lander along with an orbiter and a rover will be deployed to the Red Planet.

The lander is designed to operate for three Martian months.

It will touch down on the northern hemisphere of Mars and will contain a rover that has six wheels and four solar panels that will explore Mars.

The rover will feature a remote sensing camera as well as a ground penetrating radar and is expected to collect Martian soil and bring it back to Earth by 2030, according to Futurism.com.

The news comes after the success of China's moon mission earlier this month.

SOURCES: Futurism, State Council of the People's Republic of China, Xinhua, Business Insider
https://futurism.com/china-mission-to-mars-2020
http://english.gov.cn/news/video/2016/08/24/content_281475424665899.htm
http://english.cas.cn/newsroom/mutimedia_news/201608/t20160824_166702.shtml
https://www.businessinsider.com/china-mars-spacecraft-launch-2020-rover-sample-return-2019-1
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-01/14/c_137743306.htm